I love to sing
"Jacob's Ladder." For me Christ is that ladder. A ladder to Heaven. In
this passage Jesus provides a ladder from the Old Covenant worship seen
in Chapter 12 to the New Covenant worship He describes so well in His sermon
in Chapter 14. Read John Chapter 12 to get a clear understanding of the
sad state of worship before Christ's resurrection (see John Chapter 20)
and the Day of Pentecost (see Acts Chapter 2). With the Messiah finally
present in Jerusalem, what we mostly see among the religious folk is fear,
bitterness and treachery. God lets us see that for our benefit, so we don't
slide down to this level in the New Covenant Church today. We are supposed
to be raised to the level of a "better covenant" (see Hebrews 8:6-13).
Lift us right now, Father, through Your Word, and Your Spirit:

John Chapter 13, Verse 1-
"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was
come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved
his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end."This
is leadership by example. If you make a covenant with a man you may run
into a problem. No matter how enthusiastic people are at the beginning
of a thing, we sometimes get distracted along the way. I think you know
what I mean. But with our Lord the end is just as strong as the beginning.
Indeed God, Who created this world in perfection, is going to stay true
to His plans right through to the end of this world. That is His personality,
and it is revealed here in the Person of Christ.

Verse 2- "And supper being
ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's
son, to betray him;"Judas
was disciple on the outside, but devil on the inside. O, beloved, I need
to search my heart today, and so do you. Later we will see exactly what
is happening to Judas. God is letting us see right into this man's heart,
so that we can guard our own hearts today. Even with all our blessing in
the Church we are not immune to Judas' fate.

Verse 3- "Jesus knowing that
the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from
God, and went to God;"Jesus
is about to humble Himself before these disciples. Look at the confidence
He has. Real humility takes courage and confidence. Confidence in God.

Verse 4-5- "He riseth from
supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded."Do
we really want to be like Christ? Anyone who claims they do needs to read
these verses carefully. This is the Truth. This is Christ's example to
us. This is how we SHOULD treat one another. This is Christ's cure for
Church squabbling. He was preparing to die, friend. He really wanted to
make His point very plain. By the end of this chapter He will wonderfully
put all this into words for us.

Verse 6- "Then cometh he
to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?"Sometimes
when we get a look at the real Jesus, we object the way Peter did. My way
is better, Lord, we say. If not in words, we say it with our attitude and
actions. This always gets me sliding backwards down the ladder instead
of climbing up where the Lord wants me to be.

Verse 7: Jesus answered and
said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Thankfully,
our Lord did not come to judge our weaknesses, but to fix them, and to
save us (see John 12:47). Jesus could see the Christian in Peter way before
the Resurrection and that Day of Pentecost. I believe this is still true
today. Christ still sees the potential inside the unbeliever. And He longs
to foster growth and spiritual life. It is those of us who already believe
who are, may a I say, getting in His way today. When was the last time
you looked upon the spiritually ignorant with love for what they could
be in Christ? Re-read John 12:47. It causes me shame to think that I have
often set myself up as a judge of the unbelievers when I should have been
looking and longing for their salvation. By
the way, Jesus was right about Peter. Peter became a man of great spiritual
understanding, and even more importantly, a man of great spiritual courage,
humility, and love. There are many Peters wasting away today because the
Church has failed to recognize the great potential of the lost. And in
a much less apparent way, the Church is wasting away, too.

Verse 14- "If I then, your
Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's
feet.'In
verses 12-20 Jesus stops and clearly explains to the disciples what the
foot washings meant. I don't know if maybe sometimes the disciples might
have gotten dumb looks on their faces. It seems like there are places in
the Gospels where the Lord would stop and just spell everything out for
them. I know I need His patience as I try to study His Word today. Verse
14 insures that we won't be able to miss the point. We must love one another,
at ALL COST. Like Peter, I want to see if this can be optional. Well
friend, I've found out the hard way: IT CANNOT BE MADE OPTIONAL. It is
a requirement of the New Covenant. With the commandment comes a corresponding
blessing in Verse 20:

Verse 20- "Verily, verily
I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he
that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."WOW!
Look at the company you are in when you go out in the name of the Lord
today. O my, this ladder goes all the way into heaven itself! You just
can't go any higher than this, beloved. You meditate on this verse long
enough and you'll start wanting Him to send you out. Hallelujah!

Before
we get to the great climax of this chapter, we must re-visit Judas and
Peter.

Verses 26-27- "Jesus answered,
He
it is to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had
dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after
the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest,
do quickly."
Judas is now clearly identified as the traitor in the group. Notice carefully
what has happened to him. Way back in the second verse we saw that Satan
had gained access to Judas' heart. Now the Devil has completely moved in.
This is a sickening process. Doubly so since it has occurred among Christ's
followers. But the lesson for us is to love and let go of anger. Bitterness
is Satan's key to our hearts. Judas had first harbored strife in his heart.
Only later were Satan and the worst kind of treachery manifested. Remember
how angry he became when Mary poured out the perfume (see John 12:3-8)
on Christ's feet? Please
do not say, "So what does that have to do with me?" We are all susceptible.
Can you see through this example of Judas that in a perverse way, Satan
is knocking at the door of our hearts, even as Christ does. He wants in.
And O the havoc and suffering that may ensue. But God is instructing us
here to close that door of anger and bitterness. We should be washing not
wrangling. Satan is always looking for places to enter in among us today.
Listen as the Apostle Paul reminds the Church of this in Ephesians Chapter
4, verses 26-27:

"Be ye angry, and sin
not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the
devil."

What
is happening to Peter is presented as an example for our benefit, also:Verses 37-38- "Peter said
unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for
thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake?
Verily, verily I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast
denied me thrice." Peter's
problem is confidence in the flesh. He is close to Jesus and knows Jesus,
but as I often say, Peter needs to get to know Peter. He believes he can
do it all in his own strength, but he will fail (see John 18:25). We need
confidence in God to love and serve Him. Self-confidence will fail us,
too. The Book of Acts records many of the miraculous exploits of Peter
after the Resurrection and the Day of Pentecost. He crossed over, through
Christ, from the flesh to the Holy Spirit. Humility, and love, and service
to God, these are far too easy to brag about. And it can be very painful
when we finally realize just how weak we are.

Let's
really listen as Jesus closes with a mandate for all of us:Verses 31-32- "Therefore,
when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and
God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify
him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him."We
say crucified, He says glorified. He was right. Since the day He died for
us he has been receiving glory. Why, friend, you and I are glorifying Him
right now! He knew that the Church He was starting would be of colossal
importance. And He knew exactly how He wanted it all to be:Verses 33-35- "Little children,
yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto
the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment
I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye
also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another."What
is the measure of success for the Church? Great music? Brilliant oratory?
Plush facilities? No.
No. No.